LAHORE (Dunya News) – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday decided to conduct local government elections in Punjab under the newly approved Local Government Act, instead of the 2022 version.
According to sources, the elections will now be held in accordance with the new law recently passed by the Punjab Assembly. Under the new legislation, each Union Council (UC) will have nine directly elected councillors, and the elections will be conducted on a non-party basis.
There are concerns that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) may be completely excluded from participating in the Punjab local government polls.
Sources revealed that PTI may not be able to field its candidates, as the party currently lacks an official election symbol. If PTI-backed candidates contest as independents and win, they will still be unable to formally join PTI later — since, under the new law, every elected councillor must affiliate with a political party within 30 days of the election.
Another serious issue for PTI is its pending intra-party election case, which has remained unresolved in the Election Commission for the past 19 months.
Legal representatives of PTI have reportedly shown little seriousness in resolving the matter, leading to delays in the party’s internal affairs. Additionally, due to a stay order issued by the Lahore High Court (LHC) the ECP has suspended hearings on the case, and no final decision has yet been made.